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July 2, 2012 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL REPORT Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013 The House met at 2.30 p.m. [Hon. Speaker (Mr. Muturi) in the Chair] PRAYERS PAPERS LAID The following Papers were laid on the Table:- The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Enterprise Limited for the year ending 30th June, 2012 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Annual Report and Financial Statement of Jomo Kenyatta Foundation for the year ending 30th June, 2013 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Annual Report of the Financial Year 2011/2012 for the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya for the year ending 30th June, 2012 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the Mavoko Water and Sewerage Company for the year ending 30th June, 2012 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute for the year ending 30th June, 2012 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Report of the Auditor-General-General on the Financial Statements of the Pest Control Products Board for the year ending 30th June, 2012 and the Certificate of the Auditor-General therein The Ethics and Ant-Corruption Commission Report (First Quarterly Report) for 2013 Covering the period 1st January, 2013 to 31st January, 2013 (By hon. A.B. Duale) The Report of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on the Vetting and Approval of J. Muturi to the position of Solicitor-General (By hon. Chepkonga) Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. July 2, 2012 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2 NOTICE OF MOTION ADOPTION OF REPORT ON VETTING OF SOLICITOR-GENERAL NOMINEE Hon. Chepkonga: Hon. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Section 91 of the Office of the Attorney- General Act, 2012, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on Vetting of Mr. J. Muturi for the position of Solicitor-General, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013, and approves the appointment of Mr. J. Muturi to the position of Solicitor-General. STATEMENTS Hon. Speaker: Hon. Members, there is quite a number of Members whose requests for Statements I received and approved. If they do not desire to seek the Statements, we shall proceed to the next Order. BILLS First Readings THE FINANCE BILL THE VALUE ADDED TAX BILL (Orders for First Readings read – Read the First Time and Ordered to be referred to the relevant Departmental Committees) MOTION ADOPTION OF REPORT ON VETTING OF SOLICITOR-GENERAL NOMINEE Hon. Chepkonga: Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Section 91 of the Office of the Attorney- General Act, 2012, this House adopts the Report of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on Vetting of Mr. J. Muturi for the position of Solicitor-General, laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013, and approves the appointment of Mr. J. Muturi to the position of Solicitor-General. Hon. Speaker, the Committee met for a total of four times, ending with one meeting held today, during which we approved this Report. I would like to report that the Report was unanimously approved by the 18 Members of the Committee who were in attendance. The Committee carried out the approval process as required by law. I would Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. July 2, 2012 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3 like to particularly thank your Office for facilitating the meetings of this Committee; the members of staff of the National Assembly who facilitated the Committee; and, last but not least, the Members of the Committee, who showed a lot of dedication, all of them having attended almost all the meetings. During the vetting process, which proceeded smoothly, we looked at various issues concerning the nominee. We interviewed him personally and looked at his qualifications, experience and knowledge of the law, in the context of the Office of the Attorney-General. Hon. Members were concerned about the issue of regional balance within the upper echelons of the State Law Office. We have made an observation on that aspect in this Report. We also examined the vision of the nominee and found that he has a grasp of what needs to be done. We also examined the various challenges in that Office, particularly noting that the Attorney-General is the advocate of the Government. Hon. Speaker, we specifically noted the large number of unpaid compensation claims that have been awarded to the so-called “victims of Nyayo House torture chambers” during that era. We were very concerned that the claims have remained unpaid for many years. Therefore, we impressed upon him that if his nomination is approved by this House, he should pay up all the pending claims. We also noted with disappointment that most of the Departments in Government have not made any provision for payment of court awards made in previous years. Therefore, there is a huge backlog of court awards which have remained unpaid to-date. So, we impressed upon him that if this House approves his nomination, he should work extra hard to sort out the matter, so that the Government can be seen to be in compliance with the law. We also asked the nominee a number of questions concerning his working relationship with the people he is going to meet at the Office of the Attorney- General, particularly those who are more experienced than him in that particular Department. We also looked at the issue of the Mau Mau repressions and other pending cases, which need to be sorted out. Hon. Speaker, the Committee made a number of observations. We received information and documents from the respective bodies under which the nominee has been serving, particularly from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), who indicated that the nominee has been of good standing for the 18 years he has been in legal practice as an advocate. We also received a letter of clearance from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Authority (EACA), which indicates that he has no particular ethical problems that have been reported to them. (Loud consultations) Hon. Chepkonga: Hon. Speaker, can you save me from the loud consultations that are going on? I still need to move the debate on this Report. Hon. Speaker: Leader of the Majority Party, hon. Chepkonga requested to be protected. I appreciate that you have an able deputy seated next to you. Hon. Chepkonga: Hon. Speaker, in fact, the hon. Member sometimes claims that he is unbwogable. So, I also have to be protected from that other side of the House. Hon. Speaker, the Committee observed that the nominee served as the Deputy Director in charge of Coordination in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He also Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. July 2, 2012 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4 worked in the law firm of Muturi Kigano, during which he represented a number of clients, particularly in cases of human rights. The particular law firm has dealt with a number of human rights issues. Therefore, he has gained a lot of experience as a result. He also acted as Secretary to the Parliamentary Group for five years, during which he prepared briefs for the then Leader of the Official Opposition, hon. Uhuru Kenyatta. He analysed Bills and prepared various Bills for the Opposition at that time. The nominee participated in the National Constitutional Conference between 2003 and 2005, as an observer. He was also a participant in the Constitution review process, during which he assisted by providing technical support to the Cabinet Committee on Constitutional Review. He was also part and parcel of the parliamentary staff who prepared the Anglo-Leasing Report by virtue of being the Personal Assistant to the Leader of the Official Opposition then. We thought that was a plus for him since he was also fighting corruption. Therefore, we found that he would bring some noble ideas in the course of dealing with those cases, which have been a nuisance to the Government. Hon. Speaker, the nominee has participated in a number of conferences, particularly those on leadership. He has been enlisted in a number of visiting programmes to the United States of America (USA) to attend lectures at the University of Boston, Harvard University, Batley University, Stanford University and the University of Central Florida. These programmes were geared towards promotion of internal democracy in political parties. He also witnessed the internal democracy in various practices and in primaries in the USA. In our view, he demonstrated a good understanding of the law by exercising the rule of law as a fundamental asset in the legal profession. Therefore, the Committee found the nominee suitable and qualified for appointment as the Solicitor-General. As I have stated, this decision was unanimously arrived at by the Members of the Committee today. It is, therefore, my singular honour to, on behalf of the Committee, present our recommendation to the House: That, pursuant to Section 9(1) of the Office of the Attorney-General Act, 2012 and Standing Order No.216 (5) (f) and Standing Order No.199, the Committee recommends that this House approves Mr.